Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan faces increasing questions about his conduct while in office. The Janesville resident, representing a city with high unemployment, has been dating a lobbyist for an industry his caucus is seeking to regulate, has moved out of his assembly district, and has filed a vague travel expense report that’s inadequate under Wisconsin law.
The Wisconsin State Journal reports on the latest self-inflicted problem facing Wisconsin’s Assembly speaker, in a story entitled, “Sheridan hasn’t answered questions about travel expenses“:
Sheridan, 51, has repeatedly said his position on regulating the payday lending industry was not been influenced by the lobbyist, 31-year-old Shanna Wycoff. But he has not said whether she accompanied him on his recent travels.
Sheridan aide Rebekah Sweeney said the campaign did not pay for any of Wycoff’s expenses, but added that she didn’t know if Wycoff traveled to any of the same events as Sheridan.
Sweeney said Sheridan is working to amend his recent campaign finance report filed, which currently includes only vague details about travel, such as airfare and travel to “Georgia Conference.”
State public officials are forbidden from soliciting “anything of value” either from lobbyist or organizations that employ them, according to the Government Accountability Board. That could include any money or property, favor, service, payment, advance or loan.
If Sheridan had lived and traveled simply, it shouldn’t be hard to account for his expenses. It’s not hard or complicated for a person of average ability to place a stack of receipts for airfare, hotel, meals, and cab fare on a desk, sort them chronologically, and have one’s expenses ready for account. It’s only hard for people who are incapable of an average ability to collect & organize receipts, or people who are embarrassed about expenses they’ve incurred.
The great shame of this is that Sheridan’s conduct interferes and distracts from the public work of our state, and representation of his constituents.
Previously —
- Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Sheridan’s Shameful and Laughable Self-Absolution (Sheridan dating a lobbyist of an industry he’s seeking to regulate), and
- Update: Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Sheridan’s Shameful and Laughable Self-Absolution (Sheridan dating a lobbyist of an industry he’s seeking to regulate, not living in his district, and vague travel expenses.)
Note: I’ve been asked if I were serious, when wrote in Update: Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Sheridan’s Shameful and Laughable Self-Absolution, that if Sheridan needed money to live in his district, he’d know where to borrow it.
No — absolutely not! — I was teasing about Sheridan’s association with a lobbyist for the payday loan industry. Sheridan should have stayed as far away as possible from this lobbyist, from an industry his caucus sought to regulate.